Minor scales · D sharp harmonic minor
D♯ harmonic minor scale
The D♯ harmonic minor scale (D sharp harmonic minor) is D♯ E♯ F♯ G♯ A♯ B C𝄪 D♯. It uses the key signature of F♯ major, six sharps (F♯, C♯, G♯, D♯, A♯ and E♯), and raises the seventh note with an accidental. Here it is for both hands with the standard fingering.
- 6 sharps: F♯ C♯ G♯ D♯ A♯ E♯
- Relative major: F♯ major
- RH 3 1 2 3 4 1 2 3
- LH 2 1 4 3 2 1 3 2
Listen with the cursor following the notes, or play along: the music waits for each note, and the keys show which finger to use.
The notes
D♯ minor has six sharps, the key signature of F♯ major, its relative major. It sounds the same as E♭ minor; most music in this key is written as E♭ minor.
| Degree | Note | Right hand | Left hand |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Tonic | D♯ | 3 | 2 |
| 2Supertonic | E♯ | 1 | 1 |
| 3Mediant | F♯ | 2 | 4 |
| 4Subdominant | G♯ | 3 | 3 |
| 5Dominant | A♯ | 4 | 2 |
| 6Submediant | B | 1 | 1 |
| 7Leading note | C𝄪 | 2 | 3 |
| 8Tonic | D♯ | 3 | 2 |
Key signature
D♯ minor has six sharps (F♯, C♯, G♯, D♯, A♯ and E♯) in its key signature, the same as F♯ major, its relative major. The harmonic minor adds one accidental, the raised seventh, C𝄪, which is written in each time it comes.
What makes it harmonic minor
The harmonic minor is the natural minor with its seventh raised a half step, C♯ to C𝄪, written as an accidental (the key signature stays F♯ major’s). The raised seventh is a leading note: a half step below the tonic, it pulls up to D♯, and it gives the key its major chord on the fifth note.
That leaves a step and a half between the sixth and seventh notes, B to C𝄪 (an augmented second), the gap that gives the harmonic minor its sound. Watch it under the fingers: 1–2 in the right hand and 1–3 in the left hand going up.
Fingering
Right hand: 3 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 going up. Going up, the thumb passes under the third finger from D♯ to E♯ and the thumb passes under the fourth finger from A♯ to B. The fourth finger plays A♯: once per octave, a good landmark for where the hand is.
Left hand: 2 1 4 3 2 1 3 2 going up. Going up, the fourth finger crosses over the thumb from E♯ to F♯ and the third finger crosses over the thumb from B to C𝄪. The fourth finger plays F♯: once per octave, a good landmark for where the hand is.
Played with the same fingers as E♭ minor: the right hand starts on its third finger, with the fourth on A♯; the left hand starts on its second finger and crosses its fourth onto F♯.
Chords in D♯ minor
The triads built on each note of the harmonic minor. Its raised seventh makes the chord on the fifth note major, the V that leads home in most minor-key music.
- i D♯ minor
- ii° E♯ diminished
- III+ F♯ augmented
- iv G♯ minor
- V A♯ major
- VI B major
- vii° C𝄪 diminished
Music in D♯ minor
- Scriabin’s Étude Op. 8 No. 12
- The Fugue in D♯ minor from Book 1 of Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier (BWV 853)
How to practise it
- Hands separately first, slowly, saying the finger numbers. Fingering learned slowly stays; fingering found at speed changes every time.
- Practise the thumb crossings alone: play just the notes either side of each crossing, back and forth, until the thumb is in place before it’s needed.
- Then hands together, one octave, then two. The hands cross their thumbs at different places, which is what makes scales hands together hard at first.
- Use “Play along” above: it waits for each note, so you can check every note and finger at your own pace. Then Listen at ♩ = 72 and play with it.
Quick answers
- What are the notes of the D sharp harmonic minor scale?
- D♯ E♯ F♯ G♯ A♯ B C𝄪 D♯.
- What is the fingering for the D sharp harmonic minor scale?
- Right hand 3 1 2 3 4 1 2 3, left hand 2 1 4 3 2 1 3 2, going up one octave from D♯ (1 is the thumb). Coming down, the same fingers in reverse.
- What key signature does D♯ minor have?
- Six sharps (F♯, C♯, G♯, D♯, A♯ and E♯), the same as its relative major, F♯ major.
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